Ford is to invest an extra £125m in EV parts production at its Halewood factory in a move that will make it a major part of the company’s plans to electrify its product range in Europe.
The manufacturer says the money will be spent on increasing new power unit capacity at the Merseyside plant from 250,000 to 420,000 a year.
In total, 70% of the 600,000 EVs, which Ford will sell in Europe a year by 2026, will be powered by technology produced at the site.
The latest investment, which will safeguard 500 Ford jobs at Halewood, includes Government backing from UK Export Finance, through its Export Development Guarantee.
Meanwhile, another £24m will be spent supporting Ford’s E:Prime product development centre in Dunton, Essex.
The E:Prime centre is currently building prototypes of the electric power unit and training Halewood employees in its machining and assembly, helped by the Advanced Propulsion Centre.
Tim Slatter, chairman of Ford UK, said, “This is an all-important next step for Ford towards having nine EVs on sale within two years.
“Our UK workforce is playing a major role in Ford’s all-electric future, demonstrated by Halewood’s pivot to a new zero-emission powertrain, and E:Prime’s innovation at Dunton in finalising the production processes.”
Kieran Cahill, Ford’s European Industrial Operations vice-president, said, “Our vision in Europe is to build a thriving business, by extending leadership in commercial vehicles and through the electrification of our car range.
“Halewood is playing a critical part as our first in-house investment in EV component manufacturing in Europe.”
